The depression of widowhood after thirteen months

Bereavement is a crisis from which few people are spared. In spite of its universality, there have been few carefully designed, well documented, systematic studies describing its natural history and its relation to other affective disturbances. The fate of 109 widows and widowers approximately a year after the death of their spouses is examined. By selecting subjects randomly, following them prospectively, and especially by categorizing them according to specific criteria for depression, the authors hope to clarify the natural history of the depression of widowhood.